Friday, October 19, 2012

Hot on the heels of the news that Lifetime
Television has renewed the groundbreaking series “Army Wives” for a
seventh season, I spoke with series co-star Kellie Martin, who
played a pivotal and game-changing role this season. Kellie plays Capt.
Nicole Galassin, and although we last saw Capt. Galassin flying to
Afghanistan and hitting some bad turbulence, I wouldn’t count her out
just yet. And neither would Kellie.

Daytime Dial: Your role on “Army Wives” is
definitely one your fans haven’t seen you play yet. How did the whole
thing come about?

Kellie Martin: A friend of mine, a writer
friend from “ER,” called me up and said: “Would you be open to playing a
lesbian military intelligence officer? We’re going to explore the world
after Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” And I thought: “Yeah! That sounds really
interesting.” I have never played anyone in the military; I’ve never
played a lesbian. That’s rare for me to say, since I’ve been doing this
30 years — I’ve played everything. But that is something I’ve never
played.
I didn’t know that it was going to be as
much of a story line as it turned out to be. I did eight episodes. I
really feel like they hit the highlights of this woman’s life and how
fast this couple’s world changed after the repeal. The way all of a
sudden they were able to have more friends, they got married, they got a
baby — it really hit all the high points.

DD: You sound like you really enjoyed playing this character.

KM: Oh yes, I was honored to play this woman. I
thought she was so brave and so smart, yet in her personal life, she
had to hide. It was really fun to play someone who comes out. And then
to have Patti LuPone play my mom again was awesome. That’s the third
time Patti’s played my mom on television. And it was just an honor.
I have so many people who tweet at me or
who just come up to me and say, “You don’t know how this story line has
changed my life.” Or, “This is me. This is exactly me. And I’ve been in
the closet for years, and I’m in the Navy.” It’s nice to make people
feel like they are not alone in this often-challenging world. I feel
like Capt. Galassin is the girl next door. Everybody knows someone like
her. I’m just very proud of “Army Wives” and Lifetime for following
through with the story line like they did.

DD: Like with “ER,” you came onto an
established show with established actors in place; did it make you a
little nervous? How is the “Army Wives” cast to work with?

KM: It’s funny, because they’re both pretty big
ensembles. I found on “ER” and on “Army Wives,” if you weren’t a part
of someone else’s story line, you never saw them. The cast was very
welcoming, and I was super nervous the first day. I had a ton of things
to say. I had to put that uniform on for the first time, and I just fell
into the character the second I put it on. So, that was a really big
help to me. But the cast is lovely. I had a really, really good time. It
wasn’t easy for me to be away on location so much. I was flying way
more than I care to mention, because I don’t like to fly, but it was a
really good experience.

DD: Do you think Nicole will be back for the seventh season?

KM: I don’t know if Nicole’s back. She was on a
plane to Afghanistan at the end of the season, and there was a lot of
turbulence …

DD: Yes, but turbulence can go away, and planes can go back the other way, too …

KM: Absolutely! I had a great time, and I
never, ever know where my career’s going to head, so it’s always
interesting for me to see what happens.

DD: You
are in the new Hallmark Channel original movie called “I Married Who?”
playing an uptight real estate agent, Jordan Grady, who goes to Las
Vegas for her bachelorette party and wakes up after a night of
celebrating to find she’s married to movie star Matt Swift (played by
Ethan Erickson). Let’s just say that romantic comedy ensues. (“I Married
Who?” premieres on the Hallmark Channel on Saturday, Oct. 20 at 9/8c.)
You’ve done quite a few movies for the Hallmark Channel; what keeps you
coming back?

KM: I’ve been working with them since 2003 or
2004, and I’ve really just gotten to love the people over there. I knew
the CEO when he wasn’t the CEO, and all the publicity people who’ve been
there since I started working with them. It’s really the people who
keep me coming back. They just are very good to me, and they let me have
a bit of input into the work we do, which I really appreciate.
I really have liked doing romantic
comedies — the past two movies that I’ve done for them have been really
fun, upbeat and, best of all, I don’t have to cry. I love that, because
I’ve spent so much time doing drama that this is a really nice way to
lighten things up for me.

DD: What was it about this particular movie, especially the character of Jordan, that caught your attention?

KM: I love the arc she goes through. Jordan
starts out as a very tightly wound real estate agent about to get
married to a very tightly wound attorney. She has to face who she really
is beyond being type A and totally under control. She unravels a bit,
and it was really fun to play a character who was unraveling.

DD: How are you and Jordan alike?

KM: Well, unlike Jordan I like to drink. Jordan
doesn’t drink. I’m Irish, and I do enjoy a good drink. I did marry an
attorney, but unlike Peter (in the movie), my husband is a recovering
attorney. Eight months after our daughter was born, he said: “You know
what? I don’t think I want to do this anymore. I don’t really like
this.” I do like to be in control. I like to know what’s going on. I
like routines, especially having a child. I love the ritual, routine
nature of a day, because my daughter has a very strict schedule. We have
a very rigid schedule, and that’s very much like Jordan.

DD: You had great chemistry with your co-stars,
but I especially loved your scenes with Adrienne Frantz. Her character
is hilarious, and she did such a great job!

KM: I frequently didn’t. There’s one scene I
could see how they had to cut around our giggling. When we’re eating
pizza, and Adrianne and I are hysterically laughing, and they had to
find the little moments where we weren’t laughing because we were total
goofballs. But it’s so nice to work with someone like her because she is
a pro. She’s so much a pro that she can let loose, and you can allow
for those little surprises to happen. It’s just lovely to be in a scene
with someone who’s so good at what they do that we know we are going to
say our lines and hit our marks, but we’re going to have fun and allow
surprises to happen. And that’s what we did. I would love to do a series
with that girl. We would have so much fun.

DD: What do you hope viewers take away from the movie after watching it?

KM: I really think it’s good to shake up your
life every once in a while. I’m not saying to marry someone who’s not
your fiance, but I think it’s good to step back every once in a while
and get perspective on your life. Maybe step back and say: “You know
what? Let’s do something crazy. Let’s go to Paris next summer,” or
“Let’s take off school today and go to the park.
Just shake up your life every once in a while and realize you only live once.